Nigeria: Lagos ‘madwoman’ caught with human parts, corpses: “I pose as prostitute to get victims”

‘Madwoman’ – who was not mad after all – Folake Folade (right) and accomplice Emmanuel Gbenga (left)

Published: August 29, 2018, 3:54 am
By: Esther Onyegbula

The ‘madwoman’ who was arrested on Monday with decomposing corpses and other human parts under Cele Nicer Bridge in Ijanikin, Ojo area of Lagos State, has said she, at times, posed as a sex worker to get victims for her human parts business, which she has been operating for nine years.

Preliminary investigation also revealed that the suspect, identified as Folake Folade, was not mad after all. Rather, she was discovered to be the ringleader of a syndicate that sells human parts.

The suspect, who was arrested alongside her accomplice, identified as Emmanuel Gbenga, disclosed that some of her victims were men who she lured from hotels where she posed as a commercial sex worker.

When Vanguard visited the scene yesterday, some youths in the area and security agents were seen combing the tunnel under the bridge for more clues.

One of the residents of the area, Mojisola Kehinde, who claimed to be at the scene when Folake sang like a canary, said: “She opened a can of worms when she was caught.
She said she had been here (Cele Nicer Bridge) for nine years and that her business was to sell human parts to ready buyers.

“She said her customers usually parked on the bridge at night with their vehicles bonnets opened, pretending that their vehicles had one fault or the other, unknown to people that they were waiting to get human parts.

“She said her boys would be beneath the vehicle pretending to be working on the car to douse any suspicion and, in the process, hand over a nylon bag which contained the needed human parts.”

Another resident, Lawrence Oke, also claimed that Folake revealed that “whenever she failed to find preys to meet up with the demands of clients, she would dress up and head straight to any hotel of her choice at night.

“Any man that picks her for the night becomes a prey as he would end up in her den, where his body parts were later harvested and sold off to waiting clients.”

Lawrence also alleged that Folake confessed that she had boys that worked for her.

According to him, “she said once her hands touched someone, the person would lose his senses and follow her sheepishly.

She said her husband came there at times to have sex with her at night.”

The tunnel’s entrance and some things found in it (top).

Bodies in the tunnel

Vanguard gathered that when she was being interrogated by the mob, she allegedly threw her phone into the bush.

While looking for the phone, the mob discovered a tunnel where some decomposing corpses were found.

The recovered bodies included those of a middle-aged man, a baby that was less than three months and a nine-year-old boy said to have been returning from holiday classes. Also recovered inside the tunnel were school uniforms, lunch boxes, schools bags and adult clothes.

Two Ghana-must-go bags of foreign currencies and wads of N1000 notes were also found.

A mechanic, Bamijoko Ayinde, who has a workshop in the area, told Vanguard: “Do you know she was always found with new N1000 note each time she went to buy anything? And she would not collect the balance. We all assumed she was mad.”

At 1p.m. yesterday, Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of Operations, Mohammed Alli, was sighted at the scene in the company of other policemen.

However, Lagos State Police Command condemned the mob action on one of the suspects, who was set ablaze.

Police to probe mob action

Spokesman for the command, Chief Superintendent Chike Oti, confirmed the incidents, including the lynching of the suspects’ accomplice.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, has directed the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ijanikin to cordon off the scene and ensure that the remains found in the tunnel are not tampered with, pending the arrival of police forensic experts.

According to Oti, “the Commissioner said it is regrettable that despite the various town hall meetings he held to sensitise communities in the state to the evil of jungle justice, some people at Olorunshogo community constituted themselves into a mob and took laws into their hands by killing one of the suspects, who might have been very useful in the ongoing investigation, had they handed him over to the Police.

“He warned that anybody found to have participated in the killing of the yet-to-be-identified man, will be arrested and charged for murder to serve as a deterrent to others with penchant for taking the law into their hands.”

Source:
Lagos ‘madwoman’ caught with human parts, corpses: I pose as prostitute to get victims 

Lagos State – Nigeria

“Get rid of this evil”: High Court judge calls govt to ban all shrines in Uganda

Judge Margaret Mutonyi

Published: August 29, 2018
By: Ug Christian News

A High Court judge has asked government to ban shrines throughout the country, a local news daily has reported.

Judge Margaret Mutonyi while addressing hundred at an event organised by one Christian Charity and advocacy organisation, Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM) said Parliament should enact a law to ban shrines in this country.

“If I had powers, I would have ordered immediate demolition of all shrines to get rid of this evil since they are semi-permanent structures where owners can easily be compensated,” she said.

Her appeal comes at a time reports on the practice of ritual killing and human sacrifice continue to make headlines in the country. This is a ruthless practice of removing body parts, blood or tissue from an individual, alive or dead. A victim that survives sacrifice is left with traumatizing consequences for the rest of their lives.

Earlier this month, Police officials confirmed the arrest of six witch doctors after five human bodies and a skull believed to be of a child were retrieved from their shrines in Kayunga District. They have been remanded on murder charges, sources said.

“We should not only look at stopping this evil of child sacrifice but look at the genesis of this problem. I work in Mukono where shrines (owners) thrive and camouflage as traditional healers while using funny things like blood. Parliament should enact a law to ban shrines in this country,” Margaret Mutonyi said, according to the Daily Monitor.

The Judge urged that shrines have no place in the modern world.

“We are faced with this brutality but those who are still alive have no body parts and are suffering even when their tormentors are punished. But with the looming amendment (in the laws), they should include psycho-socio support to victims and treatment by government,” the judge advised.

Justice Mike Chibita, the Director of Public Prosecutions according to the media outlet urged the public to join the fight against human sacrifice.

“It takes a village to raise a child, let us continue with that role and strive to protect the children,” he said.

Source: “Get rid of this evil”: High Court judge calls govt to ban all shrines in Uganda

 

Uganda: ‘We wanted wealth!’ Four witch doctors arrested over ritual murders tell Police

One of the suspects – upon interrogation – discloses the buried bodies and police exhumes the missing persons (PML Daily PHOTO)

Published: August 13, 2018
By: Maurice Muhwezi

KAYUNGA – Police in Naggalama has arrested four witchdoctors for alleged ritual killing.

A disappearance report of Mirembe Zuraika was filed at Naggalama Police Station on August 11 and Police mounted a search leading to the arrest of the witchdoctors.

The DPC Naggalama ASP Jessica Naawe confirmed that the relatives of Mirembe reported a case of the disappearance of their daughter and tipped off police that she had talked of having an appointment with a one Owen Sebuyungo, a 24-year-old witch doctor.

In his confession, Sebuyungo narrated that Mirembe visited his shrine for help since she had been possessed by evil spirits (empewo).

Sebuyungo then contacted his spiritual consultant a renowned witchdoctor Mohammed Wamala alias Bob who enticed him to murder Mirembe.

One of the suspects held over the vicious ritual murders is led to a cell at Naggalama Police Station (PML Daily PHOTO)

Wamala allegedly told Sebuyungo that he would amass lots of wealth if he could cut off the head of a female human being.

Following leads, police conducted further investigations leading to the arrest of a syndicate of witch doctors that are believed to have participated in the heinous act.

Upon thorough questioning, the four confessed to having welcomed Mirembe at the shrine and at dawn, beheaded her and buried the head in the shrine.

The suspects then led Police to the shrine where she had been buried.

Shockingly five bodies buried in a rather disturbing position were exhumed.

Wamala told Police he had ferried over eight females from his home in Ganda Nansana, murdered and buried them at this shrine located in Ntunda Kayunga.

Police has also recovered a number of items that include spears and pots filled with fresh blood suspected to be human blood.

Several bodies were exhumed by the Police at the shrine (PML Daily PHOTO)

Blood samples have been picked, taken to the Government Analytical Laboratory (GAL) while the recovered bodies that had decomposed beyond recognition have been taken to Mulago hospital for DNA test so that the relatives can identify them.

“The search is still going on. We suspect more bodies must still be buried under the remaining five shrines,” ASP Naawe said.

Police has since cordoned off the area as the search for more evidence continues in this strange murder case.
The four suspects identified as Junior Kibuuka, Fred Kiiza Semanda, Wamala Muhammed and Owen Sebuyungo are detained at Naggalama Police Station.

Source: We wanted wealth! Four witch doctors arrested over ritual murders tell Police
PML Daily, Uganda

Related articles:

Police, CMI recover five bodies from Kayunga shrine, healer arrested
By Fred Muzaale
Daily Monitor
August 11, 2018

Police in Naggalama, Mukono District and operatives from Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) have arrested a traditional healer and also recovered five bodies from his shrine in Kisoga village, Nazigo sub-county, Kayunga District.
The Naggalama police division police commander, Ms Jesca Naawe, identified the suspect as a 27-year-old a renowned youthful traditional healer.
Ms Naawe explained on Saturday that the five bodies, one believed to be of a woman, and the rest of male adults, were dug from three shallow graves which were found in the suspect’s shrine.

Source: Police, CMI recover five bodies from Kayunga shrine, healer arrested

And:

Police find child skull in fresh search on shrines
By Fred Muzaale & Joseph Kato
Daily Monitor
August 14, 2018

 Mr Owen Ssebuyungo (squatting) one of the suspe

Mr Owen Ssebuyungo (squatting) one of the suspects directs police during the search in Kayunga District yesterday. PHOTO BY FRED MUZAALE

Kayunga- Security operatives yesterday retrieved a skull of a child when they resumed a search at a witch-doctor’s shrine in Kisoga village, Nazigo Sub-county in Kayunga District where five human bodies were recovered last Saturday.

The main suspect, Mr Owen Ssebuyungo, 27, and three other witch doctors are being held in separate detention centres.

The five bodies, one being of a woman, were dug up by police assisted by residents at Ssebuyungo’s grass-thatched shrine.

The security team resumed the operation at around 2pm although it was interrupted by a downpour.

The residents and police from Kayunga and Naggalama police stations used hoes to dig up the entire compound, which had five shrines, as the suspects watched.

By press time, police had recovered a skull of a child at the shrines, but the excavation was still ongoing.

More bodies

“We have come back to dig up the entire area because locals told investigators that they think there are still more bodies which were buried in the shrines,” Mr George Obia, Kayunga District Police Commander said.

Police have since Saturday maintained presence at Ssebuyungo’s shrine, which has been declared a scene of crime.

A house belonging to Ssebuyungo’s mother, standing a few metres from the shrines, looked deserted as she reportedly fled after her son’s arrest about a week ago.

Ssebuyungo, according to locals, lived with his wife in Kabimbiri town in the neighbouring Mukono District and only came to his shrines to attend to clients. His father Charles Ssonko, now deceased, was also a witch doctor.

The Local Council One chairman, Mr Bernard Ssekizira, said the discovery of human bodies at the shrine has left the residents in shock.

“Although we had heard rumours that Ssebuyungo was involved in suspicious acts of kidnapping people, we never took it seriously until Saturday when human bodies were discovered at his shrine,” Mr Ssekizira said.
He said the incident has tainted the image of their village, adding that people will start shunning the area.

He urged authorities to investigate activities of all witch-doctors in the area to arrest whoever is engaged in criminal acts.

Following the incident, Kayunga Deputy Resident District Commissioner Yahaya Were said they had stopped all activities of witch doctors in the district until the registered association of traditional healers goes to the district to verify the honest healers from the unscrupulous ones.

Residents in Mukono also told investigators that Ssebuyungo and his accomplices had another shrine in Kiwungi village in Ssi Sub-county, Buikwe District which they abandoned a year ago.

Police did not say whether they would also search the abandoned shrine.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said one of the suspects, Wamala, had revealed to police that he often took young girls from his Nansana shrine to Kayunga shrine for offering to the gods.

“We arrested Wamala and while in detention at Naggalama Police Station, he confessed that he ferried eight women to this shrine. At the shrine, we recovered four bodies, a human skull and pots containing blood-like liquids but we suspect there could be more bodies in this shrine,” Mr Owoyesigyire said.

Women murders

He said police had not yet discovered the whereabouts of the said women but highly suspect they were murdered in ritual sacrifice within the shrine premises.

Last week police recovered the body of Allen Nakiyingi, a teacher in Kira Municipality in Wakiso District, buried in her lover’s house in Matugga town, in the same district.

She had gone missing for three weeks. The house in which Nakiyingi’s body was retrieved belonged to her boyfriend’s mother who is also a witch-doctor based in Kayunga District.

Purpose

Confessed: Ssebuyungo told security that they sacrificed human beings to woo many clients to their shrine.
The bodies, which had decomposed beyond recognition, were retrieved from shallow graves and a Shs5,000 note was placed on each of them.
Spears and pots of blood, suspected to have been drawn from human beings, were recovered at the shrine and taken to the Government Analytical Laboratory for investigation.
The bodies were taken to Mulago Hospital for DNA testing.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Source: Police find child skull in fresh search on shrines

And:

Locals destroy house, crops of Kayunga witch doctor’s mother
By Fred Muzaale
Daily Monitor
August 15, 2018

Residents of Kisoga village demolish Owen Ssebuyungo’s house on Tuesday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE

Kayunga- Angry residents of Kisoga village, Nazigo Sub-county on Tuesday morning destroyed a house belonging to the mother of Owen Ssebuyungo, a witch doctor and key suspect in the murder of six people whose bodies were retrieved from his shrine on Monday.

The area LC2 chairperson, Mr Mohammed Kagimu, on Tuesday said the angry residents stormed Margaret Ssonko’s home at around 5am after the police, which had maintained presence in the area since Saturday, had left.

“Given the anger residents had, there was no way they could spare his parents’ home and crops,” Mr Kagimu said.

After destroying the home, they pounced on her garden and destroyed crops such as coffee and bananas. By 9am on Tuesday, residents were still seen cutting down the crops.

Fleeing for safety

Ms Ssonko reportedly fled the area a week ago after her son was arrested by Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence officers.

Ssebuyungo, together with three other suspects; Juniro Kibuuka, Fred Kiiza Semanda and Muhammed Wamala, are detained at Naggalama Division Police Station, according to Ms Jesca Naawe, the district police commander.

The Kayunga District Police Commander, Mr George Obia, criticised the residents for taking the law into their own hands.

He said on Monday evening, the police used a grader to excavate suspected crime points since tools such as hoes and mattock could not do the work in a short time possible.

He said apart from the child’s skull and bones that were recovered on Monday, no other bodies were found.“Our investigators have now gone to Nansana to search Mohammed Wamala’s shrine,” Mr Obia said.

Investigations

He, however, said investigations into the case have almost been concluded adding that the files would be taken to the resident state attorney today for perusal. “Most likely they will appear in court on Friday or latest on Monday,” he said.

Ms Naawe said the suspects will be transferred from Naggalama Police Station to Kayunga Police Station.

This incident has prompted the Resident District Commissioner Rose Birungi, who heads the district security committee to halt all activities of traditional healers in Kayunga district, located about 50 kilometres from Kampala.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Source: Locals destroy house, crops of Kayunga witch doctor’s mother

 

Ritual killing: shocking revelations by Gabon footballer Shiva N’Zigou

International football player Shiva N’Zigou

Published: August 17, 2018
By: Sputnik International / Africa news

International football player Shiva N’Zigou, who at some point played at the French club Nantes noted that his mother had been killed in a ritual act for him.

In a video, reposted by the Le Chronique du Gabon YouTube channel and apparently first released by a local television channel, former Gabonese forward Shiva N’Zigou addresses the general public revealing his mother was killed for the sake of his football success.

According to Shiva, his father committed the horrendous act as a ritual killing “in the name of his business prosperity,” namely to keep the money his son earned to himself, so that Shiva could then make further progress in football. According to Shiva, the financial aspect had been an issue in the family.

The footballer separately noted that at the beginning of his sports career, his parents faked his ID, changing his name and reducing his age by five years.

Shiva also provided a couple of saucy details about his personal life, saying he had had relationships with men, one of whom he reportedly dated for a year, as well as had “rapports,” or liaisons with his aunt and sister during some religious festivities.

N’Zigou played for multiple football clubs, including French FC Nantes, and rounded off his career in 2016. The player partook in 24 matches as part of the national Gabonese squad from 2000 to 2008, netting five goals. N’Zigou is believed to have been the youngest player in the African Cup championship, reportedly making his debut at the age of 16.

Source: Incest, Ritual Killing: Shocking Revelations by Gabon Footballer Released Online

Related article: Football. Les terribles confessions de l’ancien Nantais Shiva Star N’Zigou
Translation: Football. The awful confessions of former FC Nantes player Shiva Star N’Zigou

Published: August 17, 2018, 4:39 PM
By: Ouest France

L’ancien joueur international espoir gabonais Shiva Star N’Zigou, formé à Nantes, s’est confessé sur les dérives du football dont il a été victime dans sa vie.

Il y a des histoires qui font froid dans le dos, celle de Shiva Star N’zigou en fait incontestablement partie. Dans une vidéo publiée sur YouTube où on a du mal à le reconnaître, le joueur formé à Nantes et ancien international espoir gabonais s’est confié sur les zones d’ombre de sa carrière de footballeur lors d’une cérémonie religieuse. Et le moins que l’on puisse dire c’est que le joueur avait le cœur lourd.

Un âge falsifié

C’est une pratique malheureusement répandue dans le monde du football africain même si elle peut paraître un peu clichée. L’ancien canari avoue dans sa confession filmée que son âge a été falsifié en avançant sa date de naissance, de quoi le vieillir de 5 ans. La raison : mieux réussir dans le football. Très vite repéré à l’âge de 14 ans par le SCO d’Angers alors qu’il évolue encore dans son pays natal, Il terminera meilleur buteur des U15 nationaux du SCO, et pour cause il avait 5 ans de plus que ses coéquipiers et adversaires. Il est notamment le plus jeune joueur à avoir disputé une CAN et avoir inscrit un but lors d’une CAN. Dans sa confidence le joueur admet entre autres que son vrai prénom a été modifié à son arrivée en France, le Gabonais s’appellerait en vérité Shiva, nom tiré du spiritueux Chivas.

Déviances sexuelles effroyables

Le Gabonais de naissance en a plus sur le cœur que ce simple aveu et délivre un véritable récit aussi poignant qu’effroyable, qui a au moins le mérite d’une sincérité que peu oseraient avoir. L’ancien footballeur hésite tout en précisant à son auditoire que « c’est délicat » de dévoiler ce qu’il s’apprête à raconter. L’homme, aujourd’hui âgé de presque 40 ans aujourd’hui, dévoile qu’il a dû avoir des relations sexuelles avec sa tante quand il était « plus jeune ». Rien que cet aveu laisse de marbre mais l’homme continue et explique « qu’il a reproduit ces rapports avec sa sœur », faisant comprendre en substance qu’il a eu des rapports sexuels avec sa propre sœur. Partagé entre la sincérité et la noirceur de ses propos, la vidéo continue et l’effroi de ce qu’il a à confesser aussi, de mal en pis. « Après j’ai eu à coucher avec un ami à moi ». On peut donc comprendre selon la tournure de sa phrase que l’acte n’était pas consenti et s’il n’y a pas plus de précision sur le contexte de cette relation on pourrait en déduire qu’il a été contraint et forcé.

Mère sacrifiée

C’est sûrement le point d’orgue de son horrible récit. L’ancien footballeur avoue que sa mère a été sacrifiée. En cause : les discordes créées par les rentrées d’argent provenant des nombreux contrats qu’il a signés. Selon lui son père aurait tout bonnement tué sa mère afin de garder l’argent pour lui seul sous prétexte de vouloir lui « accoler son esprit » pour qu’il réussisse encore mieux sa carrière. Quand on dit que l’argent rend fou…

Impossible de ne pas sortir ému de ce récit, bien que très glauque. Il faut souligner le courage qu’il lui a fallu pour confesser de tels actes qui relèvent de l’horreur pour le commun des mortels mais qui auront peut-être le mérite de délier les langues si de telles pratiques sont monnaie courante.

Source: Football. Les terribles confessions de l’ancien Nantais Shiva Star N’Zigou

More:

Mère sacrifiée, inceste, papiers falsifiés… l’effroyable confession de l’ancien Nantais Shiva Star N’Zigou
RMCSport.BFM https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com , August 17, 2018

Ancien joueur de Nantes, Gueugnon ou encore Reims, Shiva Star N’Zigou a fait une effroyable confession lors d’une cérémonie religieuse. Le Gabonais révèle notamment que sa mère a été tuée par son mari pour des raisons d’argent liées au football.

Si vous suiviez la Ligue 1 au début des années 2000, son nom vous dit sans doute quelque chose. Joueur de Nantes entre 1998 et 2005, puis passé ensuite par Gueugnon et Reims, jusqu’en 2010, Shiva Star N’Zigou refait parler de lui. Et cela fait froid dans le dos. Lors d’une cérémonie religieuse filmée, on voit l’ancien international gabonais se confesser en public au sujet de son passé et de sa famille. Et révéler des choses effroyables.

“Ma mère est décédée par rapport à mon football, elle a été sacrifiée en fait, a-t-il déclaré. Parce que j’ai signé beaucoup de contrats et que ça ramenait beaucoup d’argent à la famille, ça amenait des discordes. Et mon père, pour garder tout l’argent pour lui, a décidé de sacrifier ma mère pour que son esprit me soit accolé et que je réussisse encore plus dans le football. Et c’est ce qui a été fait. Mon père me l’a dit en songe. Moi je n’étais pas d’accord, j’avais refusé, mais malheureusement ça s’est fait. (…) Pour le Seigneur, on a participé, donc le sang de ma mère est tombé sur moi. Donc je demande pardon au Seigneur.”

“J’ai eu des rapports avec ma tante, je les ai reproduits sur ma soeur”

L’ancien international gabonais a aussi révélé que ses papiers et sa date de naissance avaient été modifiés et qu’en réalité, il avait “cinq ans de plus”, soit 39 ans au lieu de 34. N’Zigou a aussi révélé des pratiques incestueuses lors de son enfance. “Quand j’étais plus jeune, j’ai eu des rapports avec ma tante, a-t-il confessé. Je les ai reproduits sur ma sœur”. “J’ai aussi couché avec un ami à moi, un homme, a-t-il poursuivi. J’ai aussi eu une autre relation de longue durée avec un homme, qui était aussi un ami à moi.”

And:

Incest and spiritual sacrifice: the shocking story of Shiva N’Zigou
OneFootball, August 19, 2018

Gabon election raises fears of ritual killings (2008)

Published: April 16, 2008
Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Clar NiChonghaile
Antoine Lawson
Reuters

A sorcerer performs a dance in front of a sacred fire in Bitouga, some 600 km from the Gabon capital Libreville, in this September 2007 photo. REUTERS/Antoine Lawson

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) – When the body of 13-year-old Ralph Edang N’na was found drained of blood and with gaping wounds in his genitals, chest and neck last month, many in Gabon thought it was politicians who had ordered his killing.

The murder of children and young adults, whose organs are eaten or used to make magical amulets, has increased in recent years in the oil-rich central African nation. Campaigners say some Gabonese politicians use the black magic rituals to boost their chances of winning lucrative government posts.

With elections to local municipal councils due on April 27, many fear a spate of gruesome child murders.

Every week, mutilated bodies are discovered in the capital Libreville, despite police patrols, and streets quickly empty after nightfall. Anxious parents are keeping a close watch around schools to prevent children from being snatched.

“It’s before elections and ministerial reshuffles that the vilest crimes are committed and the capital empties of certain kinds of politicians who go to the interior to carry out witchcraft,” said pastor Francois Bibang, a member of the Association to Fight Ritual Crimes (ALCR).

In ritual killings, which still take place in several African countries, people, often children, are killed to obtain body parts and blood in the belief they will bring social success and political power.

The ALCR says that in February alone there were 12 such killings in Gabon.

“Unfortunately, this practice seems to be spreading again in Gabon,” said Jean-Elvis Ebang Ondo, who founded ALCR after his 12-year-old son was kidnapped, killed and mutilated in 2005.

The government set up a National Observatory for the Rights of Children in November 2006 to implement the U.N. charter on children’s rights, enshrining the right to health, education and protection from abuse.

Gabon, with just 1.6 million people, is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producers but most of its population continue to live in poverty, while members of a rich elite drive shiny new cars along Libreville’s sea front boulevard.

Omar Bongo, the world’s longest-serving president, has ruled the country since 1967 and used the oil funds to weave a web of patronage which has created bitter competition for lucrative political jobs.

Ondo condemned “the silence of the state” and called on residents to “fight off these assassins who sow terror in the heart of Gabonese society”.

After a penal code approved in January omitted any mention of ritual crimes, Ondo called on the government to find out how many people had been killed in this way.

“Spare parts”

But no clear figures exist for how many children and teenagers are slain in ritual killings in Gabon.

The head of an association against ritual crimes, Frederic Ntera Etoua, said 290 killings had occurred since 1986 in the thick jungles of the Ogooue-Ivindo province in the northeast, where Ralph Edang N’na was killed.

“There is a pyramid organization with politicians at its head who pursue the famous ‘spare parts’ then the recruiters who are middle men and then the suppliers and sellers who find the innocent victims,” said Bibang.

Parliamentary speaker Guy Nzouba Ndama opened the latest session of the assembly on March 3 by denouncing ritual crimes by politicians.

So far no politicians have been convicted for involvement in such crimes. An attempt to prosecute a legislator from the oil-rich region of Gamba last year failed after he claimed parliamentary immunity.

Philippe Ndong, a psychology teacher at Libreville university, traces the rise in ritual crimes to 2001.

“As legislative elections approached, mutilated bodies were discovered around the country,” said Ndong. “An 8-year-old girl was snatched in Ndolou department and killed in Mouila. The man allegedly responsible was a candidate to parliament who entered the government after this crime.”

Ndong cites other ritual murders. In 2002, a man in his 20s, Lucien Bigoundou, was killed in the Digoudou forest of central Gabon while on a hunting trip with companions who cut off his genitals and other parts of his body.

In March 2005, the bodies of two 12-year-old boys were washed up on a Libreville beach — one was Ebang Ondo’s son. A month later, six-year-old Warlys Igor Mboumba was found dead in a Libreville gutter, his body drained of blood.

In January 2006, the bodies of three children under four were discovered in the trunk of a car in a private yard.

And last April, two men suspected of sodomizing a 3-year-old boy and draining his blood in a ritual killing were lynched.

“It is up to the government to put a swift end to this impunity or risk seeing a rise in mob justice,” said pastor Emile Ngoua, a member of the ALCR.

Source: Gabon election raises fears of ritual killings
April 16, 2008

Gabon senator arrested in ritual killing case (2013)

The article reproduced below reminded me of previous reports on ritualistic murders in Gabon. It is a saddening reality that this Equatorial African country has a very bad reputation in this respect. I have been monitoring reports on ritual murders in African countries since the end of the 1990s and Gabon ranks high on the list of counties with ritual killings. (webmaster FVDK)

Gabon senator arrested in ritual killing case

Published: June 8, 2013 / 2:01 PM
By: Reuters Staff
Reporting by Jean-Rovys Dabany; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Louise Ireland
Andrew Lawson

A sorcerer performs a dance in front of a sacred fire in Bitouga, some 600 km from the Gabon capital Libreville, in this September 2007 photo. REUTERS/Antoine

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) – A member of Gabon’s senate has been arrested in an investigation into the ritual killing of a 12-year-old girl in the central African nation four years ago, the first time a senior politician has been detained in such a case.

Rising public anger at a spate of ritual killings in Gabon, an oil-rich former French colony on the Gulf of Guinea, sparked a march by thousands of people in the capital Libreville last month after mutilated bodies washed up on beaches.

President Ali Bongo promised the protesters that anyone convicted of such killings would be jailed for life.

Senator Gabriel Eyeghe Ekomie, who was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in December, was arrested on Friday after failing to appear before a court on May 31, his lawyer said.

Eyeghe Ekomie was summoned for questioning by the court after a man convicted of the girl’s killing said at his trial in May 2012 that he did it on the senator’s orders. Eyeghe Ekomie has denied the accusation.

“This is an unjust decision because my client was not correctly summoned,” said lawyer Gisele Eyue Bekale. “We asked the judge to re-issue the summons but he did not. We will continue to appeal this decision.”

Human and animal body parts are prized by some in the region, who believe they confer magical powers. Gabon’s Association for the Prevention of Ritual Crimes estimates that at least 20 people have been killed so far this year and their lips, tongues, genitals and other organs removed. (Bold and Italics mine – FVDK, webmaster).

Earlier this week, a sack containing human genitalia was found in a building in Libreville. An investigation is underway.

Gabon is not the only African country with a black market trade in human organs.

Grave robbers dug up more than 100 bodies in Benin’s capital Cotonou in November. Cameroonian authorities in September arrested five people for trafficking when they were stopped at a checkpoint with a severed human head.

Liberia’s elections, ritual killings and cannibalism (2011)

I have written extensively about Liberia’s history of ritual killings, in books, articles, and on my website ‘Liberia: Past and Present of Africa’s Oldest Republic‘, notably in the section ‘Past and Present of Ritual Killings: From Cultural Phenomenon to Political Instrument‘.

I was confronted with the phenomenon of ritualistic murders in Liberia when living in Monrovia – where I taught at the University of Liberia – and, later, in Harper, capital of Maryland County, in the second half of the 1970s. In Harper I witnessed the public execution of the Harper Seven, in 1979. They were convicted of the ritual murder of a fisherman and popular singer, Moses Tweh, and sentenced to death by hanging. The trial of the Harper Seven turned out to be Liberia’s most notorious ritual killing case.

Big shots’ were involved, such as Maryland County’s Superintendent, Daniel Anderson – son of the Chairman of Liberia’s only political party, the True Whig Party – and Allen Yancy, member of the House of Representatives for Maryland County and cousin of former Liberian president William Tubman (1944 – 1971). Reportedly, Allen Yancy had been involved in previous ritual murder cases but he was never convicted, allegedly because of Tubman’s protection.
Ritualistic killings in Liberia have been rampant, and I fear the gruesome practice has far from disappeared – as is demonstrated by the article reproduced below.

The article reproduced below summarizes well Liberia’s recent history of ritualistic murders. What used to be a cultural phenomenon – human sacrifices for the well-being of the clan or tribe – has become a political instrument, used by unscrupulous politicians and businessmen to further their interests.

I will not dwell too long here on these atrocities and outdated but persistent beliefs in supernatural powers. Readers are invited to visit my website for more details.

Last but not least, my publications on ritual murders in Liberia became the prelude to the present website on ritual killings in Africa in general. See the site’s menu, notably the section ‘Why publish this site?

Public execution by hanging of the ‘Harper Seven’, including Maryland Superintendent Daniel Anderson and Representative Allen Yancy, at dawn in Harper, Liberia on February 16, 1979. Picture taken by Fred van der Kraaij (copyrights).


Liberia’s elections, ritual killings and cannibalism

Published: August 01, 2011 · 10:52 AM UTC
By: Emily Schmall and Wade Williams

MONROVIA, Liberia — The pregnant woman was found dead in the shallows of Lake Shepherd. The fetus had been removed.

A candidate for Liberia’s Senate and a former county attorney are among those standing trial for the 2009 murder, the latest in a long history of ritual sacrifices performed for political power in Liberia.

In this case in southeastern Maryland County, prosecutors were tipped off by a witch doctor who provided a list of 18 people allegedly connected to the killing, including Fulton Yancy, the former county attorney, and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Special Envoy and Ambassador-at-Large Dan Morias.

Vials of blood were discovered in Yancy’s home. Nine were charged with murder but were released earlier this month following a Supreme Court ruling.

Liberia will have general elections later this year and the ritual killings tend to flare up during election season, according to Jerome Verdier, former chairman of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

”Unfortunately it happens during elections time because people are competing for political power, they don’t know God and they believe that these supernatural powers will come to them once human blood is shed,” Verdier said.

During Liberia’s two-decades-long civil war hundreds were killed for ritual purposes, the TRC discovered during its hearings.

”During our research at the TRC we found out that bloodshedding was very, very common during the conflict. People killed indiscriminately women and children believing that it would give them some power to continue fighting and that they would be protected,” said Verdier.

Liberia’s Maryland County has traditionally been the hub for the country’s ritual murders. The killings have haunted the southeastern county for decades. In recent years, however, ritual killing cases have cropped up across the country.

Verdier said some of those who confessed at the TRC hearing gave graphic accounts of ritual killings they carried out.

“People went as far as eating their opponent’s body — when such person is killed in battle they cook their body to eat, believing that the spirit, the powerful spirit of that person, will come to them and by eating them, the person’s power is completely destroyed, so there can be no reemergence in that person’s family line or their ethnic line.”

‘General Butt Naked’, a notorious warlord in Liberia’s First Civil war (1989 – 1997) testified and confessed before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he committed numerous ritualistic murders and ate body parts of his victims.

A former warlord who calls himself General Butt Naked and who fought against former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, confessed in 2008 to taking part in human sacrifices that included the killing of a child and “plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat.”

In 2005, the leader of Liberia’s transitional government, Gyude Bryant, pledged to hang anyone found guilt of ritual killing.

Dispatched to Maryland County by President Johnson Sirleaf to calm residents’ fears earlier this year, Justice Minister Christiana Tah acknowledged that “there are still lots of unresolved cases of this nature,” according to a report in the daily New Democrat.

In a case from the 1970s known as the Maryland Murders, seven people, including Fulton Yancy’s older brother Allen Yancy, a member of the House of Representatives, were hanged for killing a fisherman (see picture above). The following year Defense Minister Gray D. Allison was convicted of killing a police officer whose body was discovered on the Bong Mines railroad, apparently used in a ritual sacrifice. The government at the time displayed blood drained in gallons believed to be that of the dead man.

Dan Morias, one of those accused of the 2009 killing of a pregnant woman, is planning to run for senator in the upcoming legislative elections in October. He has maintained that the charges against him are politically motivated. He must be cleared of the charges to be eligible to run for office.

Morias is listed in the TRC report for alleged abuses committed while he served as Minister of Internal Affairs for the Charles Taylor regime. When reached by GlobalPost, Morias said he could not comment on the case as it would be “prejudicial,” but insisted that the evidence against him — namely the testimony of a witch doctor — was “weak.”

Earlier this year, President Johnson Sirleaf warned Maryland County citizens against seeking retribution for the killings with a traditional practice called “sassywood” or “trial by ordeal.”

The government insists that trial by ordeal is illegal and Johnson Sirleaf banned the practice in April 2007. Since then traditional leaders have been pleading with the government to allow them to practice the act which they believe is the only way justice can be served in cases like these.

“Sassywood” is the insertion of an accused person’s extremity into hot oil or the placing of a heated metal on a suspect’s body. If the suspect is burned then it is concluded that he or she is guilty but if there is no burn then the suspect is deemed innocent and set free. Those found guilty are killed.

The police are working to stamp out both the ritual killings and the “sassywood” practices, said George Bardue, spokesman for the Liberia National Police: “The police are doing everything possible to make sure that these things do not happen.”

Emily Schmall is a multimedia journalist now based in Monrovia, Liberia, where she serves as country director for New Narratives, a journalism mentorship project for women. Wade Williams is a New Narratives fellow and an editor at FrontPage Africa, Liberia’s most widely circulated newspaper.

Source: Liberia’s elections, ritual killings and cannibalism
GlobalPost

BBC crew mistaken for ritual killers in Malawi – narrowly escapes death

BBC crew mistaken for ritual killers in northern Malawi, narrowly escapes death (Click link at bottom of this page to watch film)

Investigation by: Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Henry Mhango and Darius Bazargan
Published: August 13, 2018

“BBC journalists investigating a series of mysterious murders in Malawi have narrowly escaped death.
The team were working undercover to expose men who claim to suck the blood of children to make get-rich amulets when they were attacked by a crowd of furious villagers.” – BBC Africa Eye

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a well-known Ghanaian undercover journalist, and a BBC team composed of Henry Mango and Darius Bazargan, were investigating a series of mysterious murders in northern Malawi. The victims had been beheaded, certain body parts had been removed.
Mr and Mrs Moyo, the parents of one of the victims, are interviewed in the film (shown below). Investigative journalist Anas disguised as a rich businessman looking for witch doctors who allegedly use body parts as charms for wealthy clients. When filming secretly a witch doctor called Kamanga in Karonga, in norther Malawi, the villagers mistook the BBC crew for ritual killers and nearly killed them in an act of mob justice. Fortunately, the crew was saved by community police and a local chief.

Warning: the film contains disturbing images.

Source: BBC crew mistaken for ritual killers 
(click link to watch film)

Ghanaian undercover investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas nearly died with his colleagues during his latest undercover piece “Malawi’s Human Harvest.”

Related articles:

How Anas nearly died in fresh Malawi exposé
GhanaWeb
August 13, 2018

Anas and colleagues escape lynching in Malawi in latest undercover job
GhanaWeb
August 2018

Anas Nearly Lynched in Malawi Whilst Investigating Ritual Murders
Ghafla!
August 14, 2018

Wave of Ritual Killings Spark Panic in Cameroon (2013)

The two articles reproduced here date from 2013, hence the reported cases of ritual killing are no recent ones. Be that as it may, I believe they are authentic and the reported cases are genuine.
Late 2012 the population of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, was terrified after the disappearance of 18 young women and the subsequent discovery of their mutilated bodies. In September 2013, parliamentary elections were held in Cameroon. They were originally scheduled for July 2012, but were repeatedly postponed: February 2013, July 2013, and finally held on September 30, 2013, alongside local elections. It has never been proven that the wave of ritual killings in 2012 was linked to the planned elections, but observers of ritualistic murders in Africa point to the fact that often there is an increase in ritual killings during election campaigns. Also, as one of the articles states, ritual killings were common in Cameroon until the 1970s though more recently the number of ritualistic murders has decreased. (webmaster FVDK)

Ritual Killings: 18 Young Women Found Murdered With Brains, Eyes, Genitals Missing

Published on January 23, 2013
By: Naij.com

A series of ritual killings of young women in the West African nation of Cameroon has caused panic in the capital city Yaoundé.

Families are now refusing to let their daughters go out after a spate of gruesome killings of young girls who were abducted by the drivers of motorcycle taxis before being murdered and dismembered.

Police have found 18 mutilated bodies on the streets of the capital in the past two weeks, five of them outside a nursery school, and all are believed to be linked to occult rituals.

In some parts of the country traditional healers believe that body parts including eyes, genitals, breasts and tongues have mystical powers, with many believing they bring riches and other good fortune.  Others believe that performing a human sacrifice will bring good luck.

Ritual killings were common in Cameroon until the 1970s but as education spread, the number of murders decreased.

Now families fear the practice is coming back, with the latest wave of killings causing near-hysteria in the capital city.

This week, the sister of a 17-year-old girl whose corpse was found on Friday outside a nursery school, minus the genitals, tongue, eyes, hair and breasts, wrote to Cameroon President Paul Biya demanding action to prevent further killings.

Deborah Ngoh Tonye Epouse Mvaebeme said her sister, Michele Mbala Mvogo, a student at the government bilingual High School Yaoundé was abducted three days before her body was found outside a nursery school. She accused the city’s commonly-used motorcycle taxi drivers of facilitating the murder, and said the government had failed to do enough to protect the victims, who were from the poverty-stricken neighbourhoods of Mimboman and Biteng.

One local said: ‘The moto-taxi drivers are the assassins’ accomplices, and their targets are girls aged 16-25 who get the taxis after nightfall.  For a large sum of money, these girls are delivered to men in the suburbs who do the rest.’

The head of a Mimboman nursery school told afrik.com how she found one of the bodies outside her school.

She said: ‘It was a strong smell of rotting that drew my attention, so I decided to do a tour of the school. ‘That’s how I found, behind one classroom, a body of a young girl in an advanced state of decomposition, with her underwear placed on her feet, before my very eyes.’

Families in the neighbourhood are said to be in a state of hysteria, banning their girls from taking motorbike taxis and keeping them indoors after dark.

Communication minister Tchiroma Bakary said: ‘Ritual sacrifices with a demoniac connotation are unacceptable and intolerable, and the government will do all it can to put a stop to it.’

Ngoh Tonye, whose sister was murdered, told CNN: ‘There is laxity in the forces in ensuring security in the capital.’

The bodies of the five most recent victims were identified yesterday, according to a State security official who said most of the victims were high school students aged 15-26.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the killings but so far no charges have been brought.

The Cameroon capital, which has a population of just over two million, is in a state of distress with families staying behind locked doors as soon as darkness falls. Police warn pedestrians to walk in groups at all times and have cracked down on local bars frequented by criminals, shutting them down in the dozens. Vigilante groups of young men guard the streets at night and hunt for the killers, as the people of Yaoundé say the police are not doing enough to keep the city safe.

The new wave of gruesome killings in the capital has also seen dozens of complaints about mutilated corpses in the mortuaries of Yaoundé’s public hospitals, according to Health Minister André Mama Fouda.

Source:
Ritual Killings: 18 Young Women Found Murdered With Brains, Eyes, Genitals Missing

Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon

Related article:

Wave of Ritual Killings Spark Panic in Cameroon, Increase Safety Measures

Published: 28th February 2013, 14:15 GMT+11
By: Global Press Institute – Nakinti Nofuru

BAMENDA, CAMEROON When Sarah Ewang, 41, heard about the homicide and dismemberment of 18 young women in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, she cried and prayed to God to give strength to the victims families.

Ewang, a jewelry trader in Bamenda, the capital of the Northwest region, can understand the pain the girls endured during the moments before they were slain by alleged ritual killers. I came so close with ritual killers, she says. God delivered me from the hands of those evil men.

During 2005, Ewang traveled from Bamenda to Douala, the capital of the Littoral region, to buy jewelry to restock her shop. In Douala, she entered a taxi already occupied by two men, who appeared to be passengers. As they drove, another woman stopped the taxi. Moments after picking up the second woman, one of the men in the car pointed a gun at them and ordered them to keep quiet. I tried to shout, but one of the men slapped me very hard, Ewang says.

The taxi took a sharp turn off the main road and drove for more than an hour into an isolated forest. Eventually, the car stopped at a strange-looking hut, constructed of sticks, grass and old bags. I knew my life was coming to an end, Ewang says, and the next thing I thought of was my 3-months-old baby.

She says she cried out and received a second slap from the man carrying the gun, causing her to pass out. When she awoke, she discovered that they had removed her from the car. The driver and one of the men walked into the hut, but the man with the gun remained with them. She says they were ritual killers. They didnt request for anything from us, Ewang says, so they didnt look like armed robbers or thieves.

Finally, the two men emerged, along with four other men carrying cutlasses. Desperate, Ewang cried aloud in her local dialect, Bakossi. Oh my God, I will die and leave my 3-months-old daughter to who? she says she cried. Oh God, please come and help me.

Immediately after she spoke, the man with the gun walked up to her and looked her in her eyes but did not say a word, she says. He then led the other men back into the hut, where they remained for more than 45 minutes. Eventually, the man with the gun returned and asked her and the other woman to get into the car.

The men returned them to Douala and told them to walk away without causing any alarm. As they walked away, the man with the gun spoke. Go and look after your 3-months-old baby, she says that he told her in Bakossi. Extend my greetings to her. Tell her that her forest uncle sends his greetings. Your fluency in your dialect has saved your soul.

As soon as she heard the man speaking her dialect, Ewang stopped, fell to the ground and wept. She says he must have been from the same tribe as her in the Southwest region, where she is originally from. The men drove away, probably to look for the next victim, Ewang says.

Now, eight years later, news of recent killings in Yaoundé has brought fear to Ewangs home in Bamenda as she recalls her own experience.

It is an experience I will live to remember, she says, her voice breaking, and then bursts into tears. May God come to our rescue. Her youngest daughter, who was 3 months old at the time, is now 8. She uses her right hand to dry her mothers eyes. Mummy, dont cry, she says.

Since the discovery of nearly 20 young womens corpses in December and January, women in Bamenda say they will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of their daughters from ritual killers. Young women advise each other to not go out at night. Teachers report that lectures on safety tips for their pupils have intensified in their schools. Local police state that they are working to maintain peace and security for the population.

The dismembered corpses of 18 young women were discovered in Yaoundé, some hidden in bushes and one discovered by a headmistress in a primary school classroom, says Mark, a member of the Rapid Intervention Battalion in Bamenda, who declined to publish his last name for reasons of job security. The battalion is a special branch of the police force in Cameroon tasked with responding to emergency situations.

News reports also reached Bamenda that vital parts of the corpses were missing, including the womens breasts, eyes, kidneys and heart, Mark says.

A lecturer at the University of Bamenda, who requested anonymity to ensure his safety, explains that the removal of those body parts is what marks the deaths of these young women as ritual killings.

He explains that ritualists pay killers to come back with certain body parts, which the ritualists then take to witch doctors or use themselves. Ritualists are usually people seeking fame, money, or positions in government and politics.

Although there were occasional reports of ritual killing in Cameroon before, he says, they were not as large in scope or frequency as the massive killing that recently occurred in Yaoundé.

Beatrice Ngwe, a mother of four girls and one boy, lives with her family in Bamenda. Ngwe says she feels the pain of the mothers in Yaoundé who lost their daughters to ritualists.

Being a mother of four girls is not easy, she says with a heavy voice. I fear for their life all the time.

Ngwes friends daughter disappeared during 2008 after the woman sent her 9-year-old to deliver a message, Ngwe says. The girls body has not been found, leading the town to suspect she became a victim of a ritual killing.

Ngwe says she would not want to live with the guilt of being the author of any of her daughters or sons misfortune, so she is taking extra safety precautions. These days, she fears even more that they may be killed for ritual purposes.

I will die to protect my daughters, Ngwe says. If an errand is very important that it cant wait to see the light of the next day, I prefer to go on it myself.

Melanie Vishiy, 22, is a student at Trinity Computer Training Center in Bamenda. She says she fears for her life because of the news of ritual killings of young women in Yaoundé as well as of another girl during January in Nkambe, a town in the Northwest region.

Since I heard of the death of the young girls in Yaoundé and in Nkambe, I dont go out after 6 p.m., she says, shaking her head. No, I dont, not even to urinate at night. I do that in a small bucket meant for the purpose.

Vishiy had heard of incidents of ritual killings before. But she says that she didnt understand the reality of it and was never scared until news broke about the recent series of deaths.

Now, she says she has never been so scared and alert in her life. She doesnt trust any man she comes across while walking alone.

If a man is on a path with me, just two of us, I make sure I start preparing my heels for running, she says. I look at him directly into his face and try to keep a reasonable distance from him.

Vishiy advises girls to stay indoors for their safety.

I am calling on girls and women to stay close to homes, she says. I am not saying that they shouldnt go out there and have fun, but they should do it with limitation and reasoning.

Beyond the home, teachers in Bamenda are doing their part to spread the message of safety.

Sarah Koye is a teacher at Government Bilingual Primary School Group 2 in Bamenda. She says the recent killings in Yaoundé have prompted teachers to introduce safety tips to their pupils.

We ask them to always move in groups when coming to school and when going back home, Koye says.

Some teachers go as far as asking pupils to tell their parents that they should not send them on errands in the dark or on lonely roads.

The children know what is going on in the nation, she says. When she asked her students whether they had heard about the killings, some children shouted that they had watched it on the news, while others had heard about it from their parents and friends. At school, children shared safety tips that they had received at home.

Because all victims since December have been women, Koye focuses extra training on female students. Some ritual killers begin by violating the children sexually, so she has also introduced some elementary sex education and lessons on morality.

Koye helps the students understand that they are too young for sexual activities and advises them to run and scream if a man makes such advances. She asks them not to follow strange men into homes or bushes. Teachers also tell pupils not to speak with or to accept gifts from strangers on the way to and from school.

In our days, we could receive things from strangers, talk with strange people on the way, without any strings attached, she says. Today, such interactions may only lead to danger. We tell our pupils to be very careful and alert.

The students are doing their best to take the advice that they are being given in school, Koye says.

Outside of school and the home, the police is working to protect the population of Bamenda.

Ever since the ritual killing cases in Yaoundé, the commissioner of police has asked the force to be more vigilant, Mark of the Rapid Intervention Battalion says. They are to arrest and interrogate anybody walking the streets late at night.

We patrol the town all night just to make sure that nothing goes wrong, he says. We have arrested and interrogated many suspects that we find in suspicious places in the heart of the night.

Mark says the battalions lines are open to all. They have received many calls both day and night from people who find themselves in difficult situations. He says the force always goes to their rescue and doesnt spare any suspect from questioning and possible detainment.

He says the number of calls they receive and suspects they have pursued is confidential. But so far, there have been no cases of ritual killing in Bamenda.

Security has stepped up in all the towns of Cameroon, Mark says. He asks the public to trust the capabilities of the police.

We will stop at nothing to put this town under serious surveyance, he says.

Source: Wave of ritual killings spark panic in Cameroon, increase safety measures

Nigeria: Letters to the editor: “How can ritual killings be curtailed?”

Published: July 18, 2018
By Bose Adelaja, Ebun Sessou & Abasifiok Johnson

Nigeria – Suspected ritualist – mob justice

“Ritual killings are becoming very common today. I think one of the ways to stop ritual killings is to empower our youths with vocational skills. With this, many of them would not be lured into ritual killing just to make quick money. Someone with a good source of living will find it difficult engaging in the act. Therefore, youth empowerment should be prioritised.”
Mr. Sola Mathew, Businessman

“It has to do with mindset and contentment. People should not give up. It is only when they give up that they see ritual killing as the last option. There are so many graduates out there doing menial jobs because of unemployment. People should keep trying and not give up. Let us develop and discover ourselves rather than engaging in ritual killings. People should believe in themselves and pursue their dreams.”
Mrs. Onabajo Tolu, Public Servant

“It is a menace that has become the order of the day due to neglect by government and security agencies.  I feel the government should seriously engage the youths in skills acquisition programmes to keep them away from being enticed with money because the victims are mostly ladies. The security agencies need to do more by investigating some individuals to know their source of income and curb this crime.”
Mr. Tony Ugwu, Youth leader

“Ritual killings can be curbed in our society if our leaders, especially those in government, can create more job opportunities and eradicate poverty, because the idle mind is the devil’s workshop. If selflessness is the order of the day, ritual killings will be curbed.  In addition, all spiritual leaders should preach against ritual killings.”
Mr. Martins Jide, Art teacher

“It can be curbed if we all will just have the fear of God. Sincerely, I don’t  know what else to say because I believe every means has been employed to curb ritual killings, all to no avail. I think the police should work harder in arresting some of the suspected ritual killers. They should not be executed nor granted bail but should be interrogated continuously till they open up and give the police all the information they need to fight the menace.”
Miss Oluwaseun Janet, Caterer

“I think ritual killings can be curbed by doing the following: First, there should be security in the country because most people perpetuate ritual killings due to inadequate security in most parts of the country. Second is the issue of employment. Government should provide employment for the citizens because the major reason for engaging in ritual killings is to make ends meet.”
Mr. Godwin Emmanuel, Student

Source: How can ritual killings be curtailed?
Vanguard, July 16, 2018, 5:28 PM

Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states